The Shadow Soldiers had regrouped at the cave they had slept in and now were trying to figure out their next move. Though Francis was celebrating his new found freedom.
"OH MAGNIFIQUE! I feel so aliiiiive~" He sings and spins around, inhaling deeply. He hasn't felt this happy in years! "Oh my old friends coming to save me from being killed~ It warms the heart~!" He laughs and kicks his heels together. "I've been stuck in that god forsaken asylum for six months! Can you believe it?! Someone thought I was crazy..."
Daniel snorts. "I don't blame 'em...you may be a bit...off in the head, but I wouldn't call ya crazy. But it's nice having our doctor back and all. Since we're on this journey of 'destiny'" He says in a mocking tone. He grunts a bit as Francis hugs him around the neck.
"Oohhh~ Still the grumpy wolf that I knew and loved~ Honhonhon!" He grins and let's him go. "Alright! So, what exactly is going on again? Why is the king trying to kill us?" He raises a brow.
Mara clears her throat. "Well...we aren't sure why, but we DO know wanted posters have been given to all Divine Guards, so they know what we look like...though it seems a special force of Divine Guards has been created by the king whose soul purpose is to hound us every step of the way and kill us..." She rubs her chin.
"I don't get it! With all the Divine Guards already doing that, why make a special force? It's really confusing..." Henry scratches the top of his head.
Ludwig hums in thought. "Well...one thought crosses my mind...I suppose it's more of an insurance sort of situation...You have an elite force made up of the strongest Divine Guards in the kingdom. Meaning you have to watch out for them, as well as every other Divine Guard who could meet up with. It's quite the situation." He rubs his chin.
Daniel looks up in thought. "Guess that makes sense. Have every Divine Guard out for our blood, then get the strongest ones follow us around and try to kill us. Fun." He grunts a bit. "Whatever. As long as we get the final two before anyone else does, I think we'll be fine."
"Oh! We are missing Pyro and Diablo now aren't we?" Francis taps his chin and hums. "Sadly, I'm not sure where either of them are...wait, how did you all find out where I was?" He raises a brow. "I hadn't had any contact with anyone from our old group..."
"Well. It seems our friend, Ludwig over here, had some strange dream where he was told exactly where you were and what was going to happen to you if we didn't hurry." Mara explains. "Though it still boggles the mind..."
Ludwig rubs the back of his neck. "We-well...I'm honestly not to sure myself...I barely remember what was happening and what was said, but I remembered where to find him." He points to Francis.
"Honhon~ Well whatever it was, I'm glad it happened! I'm so GLAD to be out of that asylum! They kept me in my own tightly sealed cell in the basement." He pouts and crosses his arms. "I felt like a prisoner! I even grew a BEARD!"
"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, Daniel was an actual prisoner up in Dunlin Prison for the past ten years." Henry chuckles and points to Daniel who growls at him.
Francis' eyes went wide. "Dunlin!? Really Daniel?!" He looks at the hairy man and chuckles. "Honestly, I'm not surprised, but still. You must have done something pretty bad to end up there mon ami..."
He shrugs and rubs the back of his head. "Well...yeah, killed a Divine Guard and all...got caught ripping out his throat. I was full wolf, so yeah. Got thrown in a cell and all. What about you? What exactly did you do?" He crosses his arms.
He chuckles. "Well...honestly, I had to perform an emergency surgery for a young woman I was out on a date with...her father found me holding her appendix...he asked what I was doing so I made a joke and said 'Getting to know her better.' He didn't find it very funny and the next day, some doctors arrived at my house and took me away! Figured that would happen, so I wore my old uniform one more time. But lucky for me, that means I have some of my old weapons~" He grins.
Mara stands up and nods. "Alright. Now we have to figure out where our next destination should be. We have to find another member...the sooner we know where to start going the better..." She rubs her chin. "But with no clues to go on, we can't do anything..." She sighs a bit.
Henry raises his hand and waves it around. "Oh oh! What if Ludwig has another dream! Maybe that'll help!" He gins and bounces up and down. "I mean it worked before, right? Maybe it'll work again! You never know!"
Mara raises a brow. "Henry...I'm not sure we can rely on Ludwig's dreams to help us find our missing teammates. It's illogical. Anyone else have any ideas on how to find either one of them?"
"Maybe e can ask around different towns and stuff? Seems like our best bet to be honest." Daniel shrugs.
"Oh! Or we can get Daniel to sniff them out! I'm sure he remembers what they smell like!" Francis beams at his idea.
Daniel growls at him and pulls Francis into a tight headlock. "Shut up! Just die already you idiot doctor!"
"Daniel no! Let him go!" Henry waves his arms around as Francis waves his arms around and kicks his feet.
Ludwig wasn't really paying attention at the moment as he rubs his chin in thought. Was his dream just a dream? Could it have actually been something...more? Even if he did know exactly what it would he be able to just sleep and have it again? Their were so many questions bouncing around in his head, he didn't know what to think. He falls over and lies on his back, closing his eyes. He hadn't realized how tired he was, his eyelids grew heavy and he was suddenly asleep.
"Huh? Did he fall asleep?" Henry blinks and looks over at the passed out Ludwig and tilts his head. Argon tilts his head as well as he climbed up on Henry's shoulder.
"Let him sleep. Wish I could go to sleep. But noooo it's to eaarrrllyyyy!" Daniel grumbles and let's go of Francis who pouts and rubs his neck.
"Daniel. It's the early morning. You can wait to sleep." Mara sighs and rubs her temples.
"Awh, you're not use to being up this early now are you?" Francis chuckles and pats his back.
Daniel grumbles and crosses his arms. "Oh hush..." He shakes his head.
Meanwhile, in Ludwig's dream he was once again in darkness. It was pitch black and he couldn't see a thing. He walks around, hoping to find something, hopefully a door. But he doubts he was going to be that lucky.
"Hello!" He calls out, his voice echoing. But he didn't get an answer. He sighs heavily. "Look! I don't know, if this is just some dream, or...what! But! I need help! Do you think...that maybe, you can help me figure out where the next Shadow Soldier is! Please?! Any hint would be nice!" He looks around, nothing. He was about to give up, but suddenly green flames erupted behind him, causing him to spin around.
"Ludwig." The booming voice sounds once more. "I am sorry, but I can not help you this time. I was only aloud to tell you the whereabouts of one of the Shadow Soldiers because they were in mortal danger. I can not help you find the last two. But I can assure you that you will find them. All I can tell you is that you should try gathering information in the nearest town."
Ludwig blinks a few times. "But wait! I still have many questions! Why me?! Why is it my destiny?! And how do you know all these things? What dark forces are coming! Please!"
"All shall be revealed once all six are gathered. Now go on Ludwig. You have work to be done." The flames dim out and Ludwig gasps as he suddenly sits up.
Henry yells and falls back as he was looking down at him. "Whoa! Ludwig! You scared me a little bit! What? Did you have another weird dream? Anything we can use?" He tilts his head a bit.
He blinks and rubs his head. "Ah...not...really? But...well, we should go to the nearest town...try to find a lead..." He rubs his eyes a bit, groaning a little.
"Wait but wasn't that my id-"
Mara nods. "That is a smart idea. Now to the nearest town. Come on everyone! We don't have anytime to lose!"
"AYE CAPTAIN!" Henry, Daniel, and Francis said at the same time and salute.
Henry walks outside and Argon jumps off his shoulder and glides to the ground where he grows his to his larger form. "ALL ABOOOOOARD THE ARGON EXPRESS!"
So they all board Argon who takes off into the sky. While on the way there, Ludwig looks at Francis and couldn't help but ask him something.
"So...Francis, how exactly did you end up joining the Shadow Soldiers...?" Ludwig couldn't help but ask. It seems to be his usual question for everyone they find to join once again.
Francis hums and looks up in thought. "Well...let's see...back then, I was the villages leading doctor back where I lived..."
It was a nice clear night. In a small village near the base of the mountains was were Francis did his practices. He was the villages leading doctor and just about everyone went to him and the few other doctors always looked to him for guidance. He was currently with a patient in his office.
"Now my dear, you will need to stay off your foot for at least two weeks, alright~?" He winks and chuckles at the small child who giggles and nods.
"Okay Dr. Francis! Thank you!" She grins big up at him. Her mother picks her up and smiles at Francis before leaving.
He sighs happily and waves as they leave. That was his last patient for the night and he was going to relax. He flips the sign on the building to closed and locks the door with his key.
"Francis Bonnefoy." A female voice calls out behind him, making him yelp and spin around. Removing her hood, Mara reveals her face.
"Ah...oui, that is moi. Now what is a beautiful woman such as yourself doing out this late at night~?" He chuckles softly and straightens himself out and grins.
"You seem to be a regular doctor of this small village, but their is something else about you you're not showing everyone." She stares at him with those calculating grey eyes of hers.
Francis raises a brow. "Oh? And what exactly am I hiding from everyone?" He smirks lightly, finding this very interesting.
"This village has suffered from plenty of grave robberies for a number of years. Bodies being dug up merely hours after being buried. Quite strange. No one has any clue why this is happening or who is doing it."
"Oh? Are you implying that you know who is doing this? Why are you telling me? I'd suggest going to the chief of police with such information mon cherie." He chuckles softly.
"You are right. I am aware who is doing this. Though I doubt you want me to go to the police with this information. It wouldn't benefit you any. You would have to try and pack up as much as you could and try to escape."
His face grows serious and he raises a brow. "Are you implying that it is moi who is doing this?"
"That is correct..."
He smirks and chuckles softly. "Well...aren't you a smart girl~ You are correct. I tend to go to the the cemetery and collect samples. The more fresh, the better. It's quite hard doing experiments when not being able to use living subjects, but it's better than nothing I suppose."
"I must ask, what kind of experiments do you do exactly?" She raises a brow, her curiosity peaking a bit.
He chuckles. "Well...I do enjoy exploring the human body and figuring out what makes it tick, what it can withstand, what it dislikes, what it likes...each body is a little different. You can really get to know a person by how their body works and what condition it is in when they have died..." He sighs happily, setting his hand on his cheek and leaning on it a bit. "I happen to do various experiments in all honesty."
She nods. "Quite interesting...I have been given the task of creating an elite squad of assassins...having a doctor would be beneficial to the group. So, would you be interested in joining? I'm sure you will be able to get plenty of living subjects if you wish."
Francis looks up in thought and rubs his chin. He gives a soft chuckle and nods. "Well...I don't see why not. It sounds like a fun time~"
"And that's how I ended up joining." He sighs an smiles fondly at the old memories an sets his hand on his cheek. He smiles softly. It seems like forever since that day.
Ludwig crosses his arms and nods. "I see...so...what exactly did you do with the bodies you er...dug up...?" He really wishes he didn't just ask him that, but his curiosity was peaking.
"Honhonhon~ You don't nee to worry about that~" He winks and smiles at him. "I have to keep my own secrets now don't I, oui~?"
Ludwig sighs in relief. "I couldn't agree more! Right! Feel free to keep it to yourself." He clears his throat and nods.
Argon lands on the ground and looks back at Henry who nods. "Alright! So we've made it to the nearest city! So let's go and see if we can find Pyro!" He points forward and grins.
They all get off Argon who shrinks an crawls up to Henry's shoulder and relaxes there and yawns. Mara nods and turns to everyone.
"NOW! We are searching for any information we can get on our teammate! Someone should accompany Ludwig as he does not know what he looks like and all."
Henry waves his arm up in the air. "Ooohhhh! I'll go with him!" He grins an laughs. "Since we've been together already I say it'll be great!"
Mara nods and turns on her heel. "Alright! MOVE OUT!"
"YEAH!" Henry cheers, really hoping someone else would join in, but no one did so he pouts and hangs his head down. "If Pyro and Diablo were here they'd have cheered with me..."
Ludwig pats his back and sighs, shaking his head. "Come on Henry, let's go." He starts to walk and Henry follows behind him, head still hanging low.
Daniel puts his hands in his pockets. "I'll take a look around by myself. I think it'd be best."
Mara nods. "That sounds good."
"Alright then I shall also look on my own!" Francis beams, grinning big.
"No. You're coming with me. I don't think it's wise to let you go alone for the time being. Considering you haven't been able to do any...experiments lately you're most likely itching to get your hands on someone."
He pouts and crosses his arms. "I can control myself! But...you're not wrong..." He sighs heavily and hangs his head low. "Okay okay fine! I'll come with you..."
Daniel points and laughs. "HA! You got to be babysat!"
Mara motions for him to follow. "Come on Francis." Francis follows, his head hanging low.
Daniel snorts and stretches as he goes off to do his own thing.
So they go off into the town in search of Pyro! Little did they know, they were closer to him than they think. In the town, inside a building a scene was playing out.
"Any last words?" A man with eyes as blue as the sky was glaring at a man who was on his knees, smirking big at him.
"You're a mad man Jones...you're not gonna get away with this!" He laughs. "So kill me. But this isn't going to be the end. Someone is going to stop you. You can bet on that."
He chuckles and grins. "Don't worry...I was hoping this was just the beginning~" He pulls the trigger and with a bang the man falls over.
The man runs his hand through his golden blonde locks, a cowlick sticking up on his head. "How was that?" He grins and looks at the director who sniffles.
"Magnificent Alfred! You're the best Madman Jones I've ever had! Oh perfect as always! That's a wrap! Take five!" He laughs an claps his hands.
Alfred chuckles. "I can't wait for tonight! I have a feeling tonight is gonna be real special!" He grins and laughs. Alfred F. Jones. Also known as Pyro. He's been traveling with an acting troupe and playing the bad guy known as MAdman Jones for awhile now. Little does he know, his past is about to catch up with him very soon.
Hello everyone! YES PYRO IS AMERICA! SURPRISE SURPRISE! Bet you didn't see that one coming, right? Well I hope you guys all enjoyed!
Alfred: America